A bipartisan group of senators have urged the leaders of the Senate appropriations subcommittee on energy and water development to reorganize the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program. The program was established three years ago to provide assistance to workers pursuing compensation claims for illnesses caused by the exposure to toxic materials at government weapons facilities. They claim that the Department of Energy (DOE) has not efficiently implemented the program, leading to a backlog of claims. The senators are trying to ensure a provision that would transfer control of the program to the Department of Labor, which it feels could do a better job with the program.
See "Program for Ill Workers Faulted", Christopher Lee, The Washington Post, October 20, 2003